Post by duckaroo on Jan 11, 2014 18:54:31 GMT -5

Wow. 'Her' was an absolute head-trip. So many feels. I don't even know how to describe it. I loved it and I hated it. It was profound, pretentious, charming, painfully awkward, amongst many other abstract adjectives. Definitely a one-of-a-kind film, as is all of Spike Jonze's movies. Really though I have no earthly idea why this is nominated as a Comedy at the golden globes.

Just got the screener for 12 years Slave and Her. Im looking forward to seeing Her. Im hearing its a trip like Eternal Sunshine was a few years back. Any truth to that?

Post by jpbrez on Jan 12, 2014 7:54:21 GMT -5

Wow. 'Her' was an absolute head-trip. So many feels. I don't even know how to describe it. I loved it and I hated it. It was profound, pretentious, charming, painfully awkward, amongst many other abstract adjectives. Definitely a one-of-a-kind film, as is all of Spike Jonze's movies. Really though I have no earthly idea why this is nominated as a Comedy at the golden globes.

Just got the screener for 12 years Slave and Her. Im looking forward to seeing Her. Im hearing its a trip like Eternal Sunshine was a few years back. Any truth to that?

I would say there is truth in it that they are both romantic comedies that are way more depressing than funny that both take place in the not-so-distant future. I can see how comparisons would be drawn. I'd say if you liked Eternal Sunshine you'd probably like Her.

Post by duckaroo on Jan 12, 2014 13:34:29 GMT -5

Finished watching 12 Years a Slave last night and went to bed knowing i had just watched the Movie of the year, but re-watching Gravity this morning, its going to be a tough one. Good for different reasons but if there were ever to be a tie for Director of the Year it would have to be this year. Alfonso Cuaron & Steve McQueen made two amazing movies. Next up, Inside Lewyn Davis, Nebraska, & Her.

Post by jpbrez on Jan 16, 2014 19:21:22 GMT -5

Pretty satisfied with Oscar noms this year. Really happy Saving Mr. Banks got shut out of Best Picture. Surprised Inside Llewyn Davis got practically ignored. Haven't seen it yet, but just got the screener so I'll watch it soon. I'm a bit disappointed that Stories We Tell didn't get into Best Documentary, but after the nomination announcement I grabbed screeners of Dirty Wars and Cutie and the Boxer so I'm excited to check those out. It's been a stellar year for documentary film-making. I'm also happy The Great Beauty and The Hunt were nominated for Best Foreign Language film. Both of those movies were in my personal top 10.

The category to watch this year is Best Actor. I'm a little disappointed that Robert Redford didn't make it, but it's a very crowded year, so someone had to be cut. Matthew McConaughey and Leo DiCaprio both give their career best performances, Bruce Dern is a legend (still haven't seen Nebraska), and Christian Bale and Chiwetel Ejiofor are as stellar as always. I'm thinking Chiwetel Ejiofor is the safest bet here, but I can see McConaughey or DiCaprio pulling an upset under the terms of 'it's about time we recognize one of these men for their entire careers of great performances'. And also just to make the DiCaprio memes go away, or spawn a completely new breed of memes.

Predictions: Best Picture: American HustleBest Director: Cuaron for GravityActor, Screenplay, Editing: 12 Years A Slave

Post by kpowers on Jan 17, 2014 11:23:54 GMT -5

I think Dallas Buyers Club, 12 years, and Her had the biggest impact on me. I think Actor and Best Picture are btw DBC and 12 years. Actress is all but a lock for Jasmine. Hustle didn't do much for me and I'm surprised by how much attention Gravity is getting. I actually found it quite boring despite how well it looked.

Post by Bishop on Jan 17, 2014 13:51:50 GMT -5

On the real, I couldn't believe how much I laughed during Her... even some parts that were just dry conversation, not laugh out loud moments, I'd sit here thinking to myself "this movie is hilarious". It was every bit as pretentious as it looked to me, maybe a little more, but damn it... the acting was fine, it was beautifully shot with a lovely color palate, and even though it got far too sappy for my tastes, it still managed to be effectively warm when it needed to and quite sad in parts. I just found soooo much humor in the movie, not just in the lines and delivery and the situations that unfolded, but lots and lots of smart, biting satire in the subtext, even. There won't even be something that should read as a joke, come across in context just as riotously funny. Amy Adams once again steals the show in this one, Jaoquin is great per the usual, Chris Pratt was quite funny, and Johanson did a fine job with her voice acting, maybe the best work of her career, actually. ****1/4, fucking loved it... I was invested, the world was believable, I liked the characters, and I found it surprisingly hilarious (to me, funniest movie of the year behind Wolf Of Wall Street). Oh yeah, have to commend the score, too. Spike Jonze has proven to me that he can make a great film without the help of a great writer like Charlie Kaufman, because... well, Jonze seems to be one.

Post by kpowers on Jan 17, 2014 20:06:57 GMT -5

On the real, I couldn't believe how much I laughed during Her... even some parts that were just dry conversation, not laugh out loud moments, I'd sit here thinking to myself "this movie is hilarious". It was every bit as pretentious as it looked to me, maybe a little more, but damn it... the acting was fine, it was beautifully shot with a lovely color palate, and even though it got far too sappy for my tastes, it still managed to be effectively warm when it needed to and quite sad in parts. I just found soooo much humor in the movie, not just in the lines and delivery and the situations that unfolded, but lots and lots of smart, biting satire in the subtext, even. There won't even be something that should read as a joke, come across in context just as riotously funny. Amy Adams once again steals the show in this one, Jaoquin is great per the usual, Chris Pratt was quite funny, and Johanson did a fine job with her voice acting, maybe the best work of her career, actually. ****1/4, fucking loved it... I was invested, the world was believable, I liked the characters, and I found it surprisingly hilarious (to me, funniest movie of the year behind Wolf Of Wall Street). Oh yeah, have to commend the score, too. Spike Jonze has proven to me that he can make a great film without the help of a great writer like Charlie Kaufman, because... well, Jonze seems to be one.

I thought it was hilarious. It's crazy how much I laugh at Her and Wolf but I'll sit through anchorman 2 and this is the end with a straight face.

Post by monkybunney on Jan 23, 2014 23:08:09 GMT -5

I just finished watching The Act of Killing. I don't even know where to start. The documentary is about the leaders of the Indonesian death squads that murdered what is believed to be over a million people suspected of being communists when the government was overthrown by the military in 1965. These monsters are given an all too human face. It's beyond chilling and made all the more surreal because the documentary follows them as they go about creating a movie depicting their atrocities. This film absolutely deserves the Oscar for best documentary. In my opinion it's the most important documentary to come out this decade. It is surreal, profound, powerful...I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I just saw.

The most, I don't even know what the right word would be, but the part of the movie that really struck me and left my jaw on the floor was the final 2 scenes. At the beginning of the movie Anwar Congo is showing the film maker where he and his men tortured and killed their victims on a roof top. At first they beat the victims to death, but that got to messy so they began brutally strangling them with wire. It's very disturbing and how he is so matter of fact about it, giving a demonstration of how he did it, no remorse at all, is like someone explaining how they had to change a tire.

Near the end of the film he's watching the movie him and his buddies made and he asks to see a scene where he played a victim who was being beaten then strangled. When they filmed the scene you could tell he was disturbed by what he portrayed, and after watching it again it's almost as though he starts to face the horror of what he'd done to all those people. In the final scene Anwar returns to the roof top. And again he recounts how they killed people up there except this time he is not as matter of fact about it and recalling the horror becomes violently ill. It's just a really profound moment.

Post by Dave Maynar on Jan 24, 2014 8:19:11 GMT -5

I just finished watching The Act of Killing. I don't even know where to start. The documentary is about the leaders of the Indonesian death squads that murdered what is believed to be over a million people suspected of being communists when the government was overthrown by the military in 1965. These monsters are given an all too human face. It's beyond chilling and made all the more surreal because the documentary follows them as they go about creating a movie depicting their atrocities. This film absolutely deserves the Oscar for best documentary. In my opinion it's the most important documentary to come out this decade. It is surreal, profound, powerful...I'm still trying to wrap my head around what I just saw.

The most, I don't even know what the right word would be, but the part of the movie that really struck me and left my jaw on the floor was the final 2 scenes. At the beginning of the movie Anwar Congo is showing the film maker where he and his men tortured and killed their victims on a roof top. At first they beat the victims to death, but that got to messy so they began brutally strangling them with wire. It's very disturbing and how he is so matter of fact about it, giving a demonstration of how he did it, no remorse at all, is like someone explaining how they had to change a tire.

Near the end of the film he's watching the movie him and his buddies made and he asks to see a scene where he played a victim who was being beaten then strangled. When they filmed the scene you could tell he was disturbed by what he portrayed, and after watching it again it's almost as though he starts to face the horror of what he'd done to all those people. In the final scene Anwar returns to the roof top. And again he recounts how they killed people up there except this time he is not as matter of fact about it and recalling the horror becomes violently ill. It's just a really profound moment.

It's on Netflix instant streaming & I can't recommend it enough.

It's already on my list, but I just moved it a few notches higher because of this.

Post by TacticalTurtleneck on Jan 24, 2014 16:59:35 GMT -5

I feel like American Hustle is deserving of all the recognition it is receiving, particularly on the acting and directing side. Christian Bale and Amy Adams particularly blew me away.

I really dug the film, but it just felt like it was trying too many things at once. On one end, it wants to be this ensemble film that's a true showcase for it's great cast. On the other side, the source material of the original AbScam Scandal is just too complex for a light psuedo comedy. I really enjoyed watching all the characters interact, and I thought the dialogue was well-written, but the editing and plot just bogged the whole thing down. How this film got a Best Editing nomination is beyond me.

Post by TacticalTurtleneck on Jan 24, 2014 17:13:34 GMT -5

Saw 'her' the other night and was just blown away by Phoenix's and Johansson's performances. It's kind of a shame that Scarlett isn't really getting any recognition for her work, because the film really hinges on the voice work of, you know, the titular character. The writing was superb, and I LOVED the production design. There's something about futuristic films that underplay the technological advances with other aspects like makeup and costuming. On one end, you've got this super advanced OS as well as a super cool video game projector (I really want to play that adventure game with the foul-mouthed dude), and elsewhere everyone there's rough-looking haircuts and pants that sit way too high and no longer require belts.

Overall, the film actually made me feel for the characters, which is kind of rare nowadays. I was fully invested in Theodore's arc, and I think it's because 1. He's so well-written, 2. He's so well-acted, and 3. Jonze constantly used close ups with just Phoenix's face to really suck you in.

Bonus points for dedicating the film to Maurice Sendak, James Gandolfini, and Adam Yauch (as well as one more person I don't remember).

Post by danbird on Jan 24, 2014 18:59:51 GMT -5

For me, Her is the best film I've seen this year and the best I've seen in a loooooong time. It was so eloquent and stunningly beautiful. Wolf of Wall St. was also amazing. I've never seen so much debauchery in such a short period of time. Surprised it didn't get an NC-17.